LA faces long odds for Amazon HQ2

The oddsmakers at SportsBettingDime.com don’t like Los Angeles’ chances to land Amazon’s $5 billion HQ2.

In odds released Friday, eight days after the online retailing giant announced 20 finalists from a far-flung list of 238 proposals, SBD tabbed Atlanta (7-to-1) and Boston (8-1) as the early favorites. The site also placed 15-2 odds for any of the three DMV finalists: Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Montgomery County in Maryland.

Meanwhile, L.A. was a 33-1 longshot, along with Indianapolis and ahead of only the individual bids from Montgomery County and Northern Virginia, both listed at 40-1.

The single master proposal from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation includes nine potential sites – including FivePoint Holding’s Newhall Ranch in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Austin and Denver were both listed at 12-1, followed by D.C., New York City, Chicago at 14-1, and Dallas and Philadelphia at 18-1.

In choosing its 20 finalists, Amazon seemed to confirm industry speculation that it prefers to locate its second headquarters in the eastern United States. Only L.A. and Denver are outside of the Eastern or Central time zones; the company’s existing headquarters are in Seattle.